Nightingale
by etudeoftheartist
Summary: "I know that I have made the right choice. And, so has Gale, with Madge." A year after the events in Mockingjay, Katniss and Peeta pay a visit to District 2.


Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.

* * *

District 2 is as alive as ever.

We step off the train and onto solid Earth. The train station is at the heart of the district, in a large village bustling with life.

Plants are surprisingly lush, the trees and bushes green and surrounding every building. Nearby, the mountains loom, their dark figures blocking out the view of the other districts.

It reminds me of how far from home we have come.

We walk briskly, the crisp air bitingly cool. People stare at us as we brush by, before turning away and pretending nothing has happened. Children run past us, laughing, while a few mothers watch from a distance away. One is holding a baby on her hip, while the others show off their own swollen bellies.

While this is the largest village in District 2, it is surprisingly tight-knit. All the neighbors seem to have taken advantage of this spring day to get together and chat.

Peeta takes my hand, his golden hair glistening in the sunlight, and for a moment I am mesmerized by the way it catches the light. The day only seems to highlight how pale he has grown over the past several months.

I wonder when was the last time we were outside, together-for celebration and joy, rather than being forced by Haymitch to get some fresh air. It feels nice, actually.

Workers hurry past us, each carrying armloads of metal, most likely for the blacksmiths. One of them is holding a particularly large piece, one that has been hammered into a vague squarish shape.

This is the district of weaponry, after all. I swallow hard, and bile rises into my throat.

Next to me, Peeta flinches and the glazed look slowly creeps into his eyes. It's difficult o breathe, with my throat compressing itself and causing me to force breaths in and out. For a moment, I picture the two of us, champions and rebels, screaming and writhing on the ground from panic on our first trip away from District 12 in a year.

He sucks in a breath and the look goes away, replaced by something else. Pain, but slightly hopeful. Determination. He squeezes my hand, and slowly, the caged-animal feeling dissipates.

"We're together. Real or not real?" he whispers to me. It has become our habit, and though it's supposed to comfort him, it soothes me as well in a way.

"Real," I murmur, squeezing his hand back. He smiles softly, and something in my stomach churns.

We comfort and hold each other, during our ruthless nightmares and memories. That's the way life is now: depending on one another. That's the way it's been since the games.

"We're here."

We've arrived at a small home, built out of wood, with flowers growing out of the windows. It looks quaint and quiet, not what I would imagine of the Hawthornes' home, but surprisingly happy.

The nerves begin fluttering in my stomach again, but before I give in to my anxiety, I knock.

Rory opens the door. "Katniss! Peeta!" he greets us, with a grin.

We come together in the tiny kitchen, where Vick is sitting at the table. He jumps up, and throws his arms around both of us at the same time. "Glad to see you, Catnip," he says affectionately, using Gale's old nickname.

We talk and exchange pleasantries for a while, though I'm itching to see Gale. I find out that Hazelle and Posy are back in District 13 and are doing well. Vick and Rory stay with them on a regular basis, but have come here to visit their older brother for a few weeks. Gale's found good work in the mining and stone-cutting business-not quite the "fancy job" I had heard he got.

With their dark hair and chiseled faces, they're becoming more and more like Gale. Rory looks like he's catching up to Gale's height, too.

After a while, I pop the question that has been burning on my mind. We have not come here to simply talk about what we each have missed. "How did you find her?" I ask.

Rory and Vick glance at each other, before Vick begins talking. "They found her body in the house. Somehow, she survived. Then they brought her here, so she could recover. She's been staying with Gale since then."

I wonder how they feel about the arrangement, a girl that their brother used to despise, now living with him.

I'm not sure how I feel.

Peeta is studying me, and when I meet his eyes, he gives me a wry smile, as if he is reading my thoughts. There is no jealousy in his gaze, though-rather, he is laughing at me, with a glint in his eyes.

"So, where are the two?" he asks the two brothers.

"Out in back," they answer together, pointing the direction.

We make our way through the back door. The area is formidable, a grassy clearing, leading into a forest. Achingly, it reminds me of the forest Gale and I once shared together, and I realize this is probably why he chose this house in particular.

Two people are standing at the edge of the clearing. Tinkling laughter, matched with lower chuckles, fill the air.

Peeta and I stop in our tracks and stare, as Gale spins the petite, golden-haired girl around in the air.

She is giggling, squealing, and Gale is laughing hard, gripping her arms tightly and spinning in a circle. His eyes are light-hearted and his face is not lined with stress. My jaw is dropping, at how bright his smile is, and how it mirrors Madge's.

Gale looks more muscular than I remember; otherwise, his tall figure and dark hair hasn't changed. Madge looks well, her blonde hair shining and cheeks flushed.

But what startles me is how happy they look together.

He slows and returns her to the ground, cradling her small body against his. "Gale-" she begins, breathless, only to be cut off by his lips.

Gale places his hands on both side of her waist and brings her closer to him, effectively muffling whatever she was going to say. Their hands tangle in each other hair, and he pushes her up against a near tree.

I notice how relaxed his shoulders are, how content her shut eyes are. Her hands shift to his back, where she begins rubbing slow circles.

It's been a while since I've seen this Gale.

For a moment, I wonder if this would have been us if the battle had never happened. Kissing, dancing, having fun, in the woods together. High on love and life. Something inside me pines for the two of us like that, finally getting our happy ending.

Then I laugh at myself. It is a silly notion, for two people as anger and fire-fueled as us, to be getting affectionate. Our relationship, if it had occurred, would have never been like him and Madge. No, the only thing our relationship would ever be would be friendship.

Carefully, he strokes her cheek, pressing deeper into the kiss. Definitely not one of their first ones.

I feel strange. Not jealous, no...but it is a foreign feeling, one I have experienced few times in my life.

_Contentment_.

They are happy, alive, and well. Especially Gale, whose face only shows bliss, and no traces of pain or anger.

And that is all I need to know.

I look to the boy with the bread, the boy I have chosen, and he is smiling at the two lovebirds.

I don't doubt choosing Peeta. He rounds out my hard edges, yet he doesn't put out my fire. Rather, he helps me to control it. We care for each other, and keep each other in check, remind each other that there is still good in this world of hurt and pain.

I know that I have made the right choice. And, so has Gale, with Madge.

Peeta leans in and softly brushes his lips against mine, sending tingles all the way down to my toes. "Maybe we should come back at a more...convenient time?" he wonders.

I laugh, and we walk away together, leaving the pair to finish their business.


End file.
